Oh, the Youthful Romance!
by DeepBlueInk
Summary: Of a Neji and a Tenten, and a whole lot of Youth. Lee has a few plans for a Special Youthful Tenten Birthday, and of course; it just had to include Neji.


"NEJI! OH YOUTHFUL DAY, YOUTHFUL INDEED!"

Rock Lee bounded up to the Hyuuga compound, his eyes and teeth sparkling in the morning sun.

Taking a deep breath, Lee exclaimed, "Good MORNING NEJI! Gai-sensei told us we have to be at the gate in a total of ONE and a HALF minutes before FIVE o'clock TOMORROW! WE MUST ALL MAKE IT, TO PROVE OUR YOU—!"

Neji breathed out, stopping in the middle of his strike. Eyes narrowing, Neji 'hmphed' in disinterest and resumed his stance, hoping that Lee would get it and just shut up.

He didn't, of course, and wouldn't do so any time soon. The other boy just kept chattering, on and on and—

Neji really didn't want to hear Lee's rambles so early in the morning.

Or, rather, at any time of day. At all.

"Oh, yes! It is the Eve of dear Tenten's birthday! How uncouth of me to forget…I must run five-hundred laps and do three-hundred crunches to punish myself, later!" To Neji's mild discomfort, Lee stopped and smiled in a knowing way. "What did you get her, eh Neji?"

Suspicion settled. "…A blade set."

Lee's mouth went agape. H-How…

UNROMANTICALLY UNYOUTHFUL!

"But our team's youthful flower must have _youthful _gifts from us _all_, or SHE WILL HAVE AN _UN_-YOUTHFUL PARTY!" he protested earnestly.

The green-clad boy turned and clenched his fist, tears pouring from the corners of his eyes. That would be SO _un_-youthful, it would be frightening! Blade set, really...she got blades from the two of them on an almost daily basis! It was too sad to pass up such an opportune moment for his love-struck teammates!

Then he thought. Rock Lee could NOT go to an _un_-youthful celebration, so he needed to get the stoic Hyuuga to get the weapon mistress a more ROMANTIC present…

Spandex boy deviously rubbed his hands, snickering.

He had a plan.

**Y*O*U*T*H*!**

Tenten twiddled with a kunai straddle to her waist, examining the stalls of gleaming fish and fresh vegetables for her dinner.

Her Lee senses were tingling.

Just a few minutes before, a handsome teen had sidled up next to her, gotten on his knee, and had presented her with a beautiful pair of ebony hair sticks in a velvet box. The boy had just nodded when she questioned him, smirked, and ran away.

A few minutes after that, a crowd of ninja and villager males alike had squashed themselves around the bemused Tenten, presenting her vast arrays of food, jewelry, all sorts of elegantly sharp items, and clumsily versed poetry. The attention she received got the attention of the number of other Konoha citizens, and they all gathered along with the courtiers.

Well, that was until they ran away screaming.

"LEEEEEE!" Tenten scanned the neighborhood furiously, her eyes glittering in anger. There were bowl cuts and green clothes everywhere, but no sign of a bushy-browed boy in a green spandex.

Che. He was good. Swearing, she stormed down the street, a series of needles clutched tightly in her strong, accurately deadly hands.

"I'm going to kill you, Lee!"

Neji was at a loss. Tenten was actually being _courted_ by the opposite gender, and she was actually _accepting_ their gifts.

He _didn't_ like it. Not one, _itsy bitsy little_ bit.

He ground his teeth as he faced the polished wooden sign on the door, and finally pushed his way inside.

"Welcome to the Kawaii Lady accessory shop! How may I help you?'

Carp.

"_Happy-- _YOUTHFUL!_ --Birthday to you, Happy-- _YOUTHFUL! _--Birthday to you, Happy--_ YOOOUUUTHFUULL!! _--Birthday to-- _YOUTHFUL!_ --Tenten, Happy Birthday to--_ YOUTH-mrghph! --_you!"_

Lee and Gai-sensei collapsed, Ino and Sakura's hands clamped tightly over their mouths. The two girls forced grins as Tenten blew out the candles of the cool fruit cake.

"PUH-RESENTS!" they screamed, hurling the shiny, --oh so _shiny-- _gifts at the laughing birthday girl. Neji and Shikamaru were sitting in respectively silent and snoring heaps in separate corners of the small apartment room, and Chouji and Naruto had already inhaled half of the humongous, wedding worthy cake.

Tenten ripped open the first present, a green, bulging monstrosity.

A collection of green spandex suits.

The second, an orange and blue box of kunai and ramen.

The third, a pretty purple mini skirt that would undoubtedly go into a fire in the middle of the night--

A pink wrapped pair of spiked training boots. (Lee and Neji shrank back in horror)

A recipe book, with the words YOU COOK WELL. SO PLEASE COOK ME STUFF TO EAT written in red Crayola across the inside cover.

A cloud notebook.

And finally(Ino was sitting on it, and didn't notice until Chouji pointed out that there was a red box under her--), a tiny silver shell locket with a miniature, Extremely Pointy Weapon® star glued to the inside.

Tenten was silent for a moment. She beckoned Neji over, and quietly asked him to put the chain on for her. He hesitantly clasped the chain over her slender neck, and let her pull him out of the room.

After a little while, Ino, Sakura, Lee, and Gai-sensei tiptoed over to the door of Tenten's bedroom, carefully placing their ears over the spots that weren't embedded with very pointy weapons.

"—Thanks Neji! This _is_ really cool you know! I can't believe you had to go _there_—"

"Please. Don't mention it."

The door swung open to reveal four innocent angels pulling Naruto and Chouji away from the demolished birthday pastry, innocent, youthful expressions on their faces.

Neji went back to his silent corner opposite the dreaming Shikamaru, and Tenten sat back near the cake, helping the four disappointed holy ones pull the Cake Duo away.

At that split second, Shikamaru blearily woke, and Ino jumped in surprise.

"Is it just me, or…" They looked at each other, and continued in unison,

"_Is that a hickey_?"

End.


End file.
